What Distant Deeps — Snippet 50

“Bloody wish they’d come,” muttered Hogg, hunched beneath a poncho of raw wool. There was nothing high-tech about it, but it was warm and the lanolin kept the rain out. “If they’re coming.”

He looked up at Daniel. “You’re sure about that, young master?”

“I trust Otto,” said Daniel equably, “and he trusts his crew. The car is coming.”

“In going over Alliance manning lists, Daniel . . . ,” Adele said. Another splatter of rain raked the water, then the quay. She barely noticed it, because she was now back in her proper element: information. “I found something I perhaps should have mentioned to you sooner.”

Well, she’d only found the information this evening while reviewing data Cory and Cazelet had marked for her after she left for Diamond Cay. And there had been other, more pressing, matters to deal with.

“The cruiser Sachsenwelt was stationed on Zenobia,” she continued aloud. “The Z 42 and Z 46 under von Gleuck were sent to join it three years ago.”

Daniel was frowning slightly. “Sent to replace it, I suspect,” he said. “The Sachsenwelt was over eighty years old and was withdrawn immediately for scrapping on Pleasaunce.”

“The ship was withdrawn,” said Adele, “but over two hundred of her crew were transferred to the destroyers. In exchange a hundred and ten of the former destroyer personnel returned to Pleasaunce with the Sachsenwelt. I suspect that Lieutenant Commander von Gleuck has more reason to trust his crews than most Alliance captains at this stage of the war.”

Daniel guffawed and clapped his hands in delight. “So he not only stripped the trained ratings from the junker, he got rid of the slum drafts that Porra’s been using to fill out the Fleet’s crews!” he said. “By heavens, that –”

He paused to let his grin spread. He said, “You understand, I trusted Otto anyway. But now I know why I was right to trust him.”

“There’s an aircar coming,” said Sun, looking eastward into the city through the visor of his commo helmet. “Yeah, there’s the lights. Hey, it’s coming fast.”

Adele looked up, though it was a moment before her unaided eyes caught movement against the lights of the waterfront bars and other establishments catering to spacers. She didn’t like the feel of commo helmets, and the sensory boost they gave experienced users simply didn’t interest her.

The car was indeed coming fast. When the driver started to slow, the bow rose dangerously before he managed to restore equilibrium. It was the correct vehicle, at least. It made a half turn, putting it broadside to the quay, and then banged down with a graunch from the skids that bounced it into the air again. The driver jerked his steering yoke to the right and screeched to the surface again, finally stopping with half the left skid hanging over the water.

“If they land like that as a generally thing,” Hogg said musingly, “they better know how to swim.”

“Yes,” said Daniel. “But my guess is that they don’t fly aircars any more often than Barnes does.”

Adele had already been thinking of the period when Barnes was the closest thing to an aircar driver aboard the Princess Cecile. But Barnes was a very good fellow to have beside you in a fight, and that had been sufficient recommendation enough before Tovera taught herself to drive. She wasn’t very good either, but she was generally a great deal less exciting than Barnes had been.

Five tough-looking spacers got out of the aircar, each of them rocking the vehicle on its skids. They wore Fleet utilities; the sodium lights on standards along the quay turned the drab green fabric into a brownish purple. Adele thought the one who’d been driving was female, though she wouldn’t have cared to stake anything valuable on that guess.

Adele was interested to see that they were in uniform rather than nondescript slops: they were making the explicit statement that the Resident’s aircar had been stolen by Fleet spacers. One way or another the events of the next few hours would make the point moot, but they — and von Gleuck, who must have ordered them to wear utilities — were taking that on faith.

The leader was a warrant officer with a broad black beard and a rigger’s maul thrust through his belt. He was of average height, but the width of his shoulders made him look like a dwarf.

“You’re Leary?” he said.

“I am,” said Daniel. He stepped forward, his left thumb pinching a 20-florin coin against his palm. He reached toward the warrant officer. “For your trouble, sir.”

The big man recoiled. “We’re not doing this for pay!” he said. “The Old Man asked us for a little private favor, so we did it for him!”

“Nor am I offering to pay you, my good man,” Daniel said. He spoke sharply, but he didn’t withdraw his hand. “I’m hoping that some fellow spacers would have a drink on me the next time they’re in a dram shop.”

“Don’t get your back up, Porker,” growled the female spacer. “He’s all right even if he is Cinnabar.”

“And I’d just about murder a drink,” said another man. Then, hastily, “When we stand down, I mean. Don’t get your knickers in a twist, Porker, I’m not planning to get blitzed with an alert on.”

“Hogg here will drive you to your ship,” Daniel said. “And though I realize you didn’t do it for our sake, I assure you that I do appreciate your trouble.”

Porker palmed the coin, peeked at it in the hollow of his hand, and nodded approvingly. “Thank you, sir, and sorry about getting shirty there. Anyway, it wasn’t much trouble.”

“Warn’t any trouble a’tall, I say,” said one of his companions, a rangy fellow with a long face and merry eyes. “I could’ve handled both them blowhards myself, and that wouldn’t have been trouble neither.”

“The Old Man said he’d see us right,” said the woman. It seemed to Adele that her tone was prayerful, albeit that of a believer praying. “He won’t let us down.”

“Master Daniel?” said Hogg pleadingly. “You know, they could just take the van themself and I could go along with you, you know?”

“Come along, lads and lady,” Hogg said, striding toward the cab of the van. He sounded cheerful again. “I wouldn’t mind hearing just how you pulled this off.”

Gibbs had gotten out of the van, probably at Tovera’s direction. He looked more miserable than the weather justified. Adele felt contempt for people whose problems were self-inflicted; but then — her hard smile quirked — she felt contempt for most people. And she didn’t like herself very much.

Daniel watched the Alliance spacers climb into the van. “Right, then,” he said cheerfully. “Let’s go. Tovera, you’re all right with this?”

“Yes,” Tovera said. She held her arms up and rotated her hands while flexing the fingers, showing that everything worked. There was a thin sheath over either wrist.

The Medicomp had made Tovera functional, but she wouldn’t be capable of delicate manipulations for some while yet. Fortunately, her driving skills had never risen to delicacy — and Adele was sure that Tovera was still a good enough shot to put down anyone she wanted dead.

As Tovera got into the cab, she said to the gunner, “Hey, Sun? Keep an eye on our friend Gibbs, will you?”

“Oh, I say!” Gibbs blurted. “That’s not necessary! I’m on your side now, I assure you.”

“Sun, ride up front with Tovera if you will,” Daniel said. “Adele and I will keep Master Gibbs company.”

Adele got into the closed vehicle. The interior was done in black with silver highlights, presenting a slickly unnatural ambiance. She found it comfortable. Daniel followed Gibbs in behind her. “Does your man have to carry that rifle?” Gibbs said, sounding petulant. “Does he plan to shoot his way into the Farm, is that it?”

Daniel closed the door. Tovera increased power to the fans, but she didn’t try to take off until she had a feel for the controls.

“Sun would carry an impeller if we were visiting for the purpose we’ll tell Nasrullah we’re there,” Daniel said cheerfully. “He’s seen a good deal of combat, Gibbs. We all have. So we’re going to give Nasrullah and his personnel the sort of people he’ll expect when we identify ourselves.”

The aircar slid forward and lifted, climbing at a steep angle. Adele suspected that this vehicle was much more powerful than Tovera was used to driving.